Riding the Wave
by sparkerius
Summary: Horses. Meth Lab. Butt Kicking. Steve and Kono
1. Chapter 1

Hi All! So I've busy busy busy for the last week and a half writing a story. Done 7 chapters, but alas that story doesn't seem to be working completely so Its going to take a longer time to finish that one. In the meantime I was looking up pics of horses for a friend of mine today and then this idea popped into my head! Have no idea what to do with the whole story, but I'm sure it'll come to me sometime. Feel free to PM me with some ideas! Herewith the first chapter….

Chapter 1

The day was as any other. Our favourite team was working on clearing their desks of all the paper that had accumulated over the week. The previous week had been busy. They had found themselves in many uncomfortable situations and finally the week had wound down and it was almost their weekend off, much to their relief. They all sat in their individual offices and sorted through the only thing holding them back from going home, the paper obstacles on their desks, if anybody had walked in they wouldn't have even known that they were silently playing a game. Danny let out a moan that was heard by all other members of the group. They all seemed to look up at once and smile.

"You're it Danny!" Kono shouted, a little too happily as she lifted the last 3 files off her desk and carried them towards Danny's office.

"No I'm not! I never SAID a thing." He protested.

"You didn't have to," Steve joined in. "You moaned! And the rules specifically state that the first one to moan does everybody else's paper work!" He grinned a cheeky grin at his partner as he put only one file on his desk. "Lucky for you I'm almost done!"

"Well, I'm far from done." Chin smiled at Danny who only seemed to shake his head in disbelief. "But, I would never leave you with all that to do on a Friday night."

"I would." Kono giggled as she placed her 3 files on Danny's desk. "Hmmm… what am I going to do with all this free time?" She started to walk out of his office, smiling proudly to herself. She turned and flashed a winning smile at Danny who only rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Leave me here! But I'm going to get you back."

"No, you're not." She flashed another smile his way as she walked back towards her office.

"So, what are still doing here? Don't you have some poor soul to torture now that I'm doing your paper work?" He aimed his conversation at Steve.

A cocky grin was returned to his banter, "Hmmm..I think I would love to stay and torture you, but instead I'll go home and put on some steaks." His phone rang in his pocket and when he saw the caller his grin fell away, "Maybe not. Governor?"

Steve paced around Danny's office as he spoke to the governor. Danny couldn't make out the conversation. It seemed very one sided. Eventually the conversation ended and Steve put his phone in his pocket.

"So, weekend ruined. I feel so bad for you." The sarcasm in Danny's voice was noted.

"No, actually I think it might have gotten a little better." Danny gave him a very confused look.

"How so?"

"We've got a case next week and we are going to have to do some prep work this weekend for it."

"only you would think prepping for a case makes a good weekend." Danny raised his hands in the air.

"What kind of prep work?" Chin asked.

Just then Kono was making her way past Danny's office on her way out the door. "See you guys Monday."

"Nope, I'll see you tomorrow." Steve grinned at her and she felt slightly confused at his look.

"Uh…You will?"

"Yeah, You will?" Danny interjected.

"Kono and I are going horse riding tomorrow."

"Uh, we are?" She hadn't seen him on the telephone with the governor and was very confused.

"Yup, I'll pick you up at 10."

"Sorry, boss. But why I am going horse riding?"

"Coz next week you and I get to go live on a ranch. Governor's orders."

"Oh. Okay?" She smiled a little. "Till tomorrow then?" She left the building, moving pretty quickly so that the boys didn't notice the silly grin on her face. She wasn't sure if was because the idea of being on a ranch with Steve was exciting because she loved the way he policed or if it was because she just liked him. Either way she didn't want the others to see her expression. She thought about how maybe she should have mentioned that she didn't ride horses all that well. Yes she could ride a horse, but her level of expertise wasn't exactly up to scratch. _Oh well, we'll just have to see how it goes. _She smiled to herself, content that her weekend would be filled with work…and Steve.

The next morning was a bright and sunny day, perfect for horse riding and maybe a little surfing Steve thought to himself. He had gone for his normal morning swim, a little later than usual, and was now getting ready to go and pick Kono up for their day . He couldn't help but grin to himself about the way she had looked so surprised, yet happy to be going with him. He dressed himself in cargo pants, a tight shirt and an overshirt. He was sure that there had been a look in her eye, more than normal eager to be in the action look. He hoped so at least. She was one of a kind that girl. Damn intelligent, witty, funny, active and well, gorgeous. He had kept his feelings at bay for her due to their work environment, but the excuse was getting old. If he spent almost every day with her anyway, what would a little romance hurt? _And I do romance well._ He was continuing to grin to himself when he was sidetracked by his ringing phone. He looked at the caller ID and his eyes lit up.

"Morning Kono."

"Hey boss." She sounded happy to hear his voice, but a little nervous at the same time. "So, you almost ready?"

"Yeah. I'll be there in about 15 min. Eager to ride with me, Kono?"

Kono was grateful that they were talking on the telephone and he couldn't see her blushing. "Yeah yeah. Its not that, its just that I should probably tell you something."

"I'm listening."

"I'm not really good at riding…" She paused for a few moments. "…horses, that is." Another blush immediately flushed her face.

"Okay. But you can ride?" He was smiling at her choice of words and started running down the stairs of his house to gather his stuff in the living room.

"Yeah a little. So if you want to take somebody else I'll totally understand."

"Relax Kono, we're not expected to ride like pro's." He didn't want to give her spot to anybody else.

"Okay. Well, I'll see you in a couple of minutes then."

"Okay then. Dress comfortable."

Steve pulled up to the apartment and smiled as he noticed Kono walking down the stairs of the apartment complex eventually walking in the parking lot towards his van. He opened his door and climbed out, giving her a once-over while wearing his aviators. Wow. If she looked so good while dressing comfortable, then dressing up is something to look forward to. She was wearing a pair of blue tight skinny jeans and a lime green tank top that seemed to gather at the chest area, showing her cleavage slightly.

"Hey. Great day out today."

"Its Hawaii, when isn't there a great day." She smirked in response to him making idle chit chat.

He grabbed her back pack from her and tossed it into the back seat of the van, opening the door for her and gesturing for her to climb in while he waited to close her door for her. He then ran around to the drivers side door and jumped in. He started the engine and looked at her through his sunglasses. "Ready for the ride of your life?" He joked with her.

"Oh baby, oh baby!" She laughed a little in response.

After Steve had pulled the vehicle out on the highway they both seemed to settle back and relax a little. They both seemed a little nervous to themselves and eventually Kono broke the not so awkward silence.

"So what's this all about?"

"hmm?"

"The case? Why exactly are we going horse riding?"

"Oh yeah. Well, the Governor called yesterday. Said she needed two of us to go to a ranch on Tuesday, she's booked us in, to find out about some guys that are reportedly manufacturing meth somewhere in the area."

"Okay, what's our cover?"

"Don't really know. Haven't thought that far." Kono gave him a curious look.

"But if the Governor requested for you and I to do this then surely she would have given us a cover already?"

"Well, she requested 2 of us, not necessarily us specifically." He looked smug for some reason. "And Danny and Chin just don't seem like they enjoy the outdoors as much as you and I, therefore they would make the whole undercover thing unbelievable." He smirked and watched her reaction out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh. Right." She was sure there was another reason, but didn't press the issue. "so what's our cover going to be?"

He immediately noticed a small wave of happiness cross her face. "Well…" he joked, "How about we are brother and sister."

Kono laughed out loud at the suggestion. "Um, I think the difference in nationality might give that away."

Steve laughed aswell, fully aware that he didn't want to play the part of her brother anyway. "Okay then, shoot me down. How about we're a young couple taking a week's vacation." He turned his eyes from the road to watch her as he spoke to her.

She smirked, knowing that he was looking for a reaction. One she would not give him the satisfaction of having. "Well, I could pull that off. Not sure about you though?" She eyed him for his response this time.

"Oh Really. And why would I not be able to pull that off."

"Well, lets just say you're not really the one woman kind of guy. For one whole week you would have to be charming, sweet and …."she purposely delayed the last word. "…affectionate to one woman."

He pretended he took offense to her words. "Hey. I can be affectionate and all the other things."

"Sure you can." It was a dare, one she was fully aware that she was implying.

"Ok Kono Kalakaua. A happy young couple we will be. You better bring you're A game." He smiled and turned his eyes back to the road not noticing the smirk on Kono's face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi All! Thank you so much for all the reviews and assistance. I have just figured out how to reply to each review (patting myself on the back) so I'll try my best to reply to you all individually! Next chapter starts here…**

**Disclaimer: (counts for the first chapter aswell. ) I don't own them!:(**

CHAPTER 2

Danny was at the park with Grace on his day off. He invited Chin to join them as the other two members of their squad were riding off into the sunrise somewhere. The two officers sat a table and watched on as Grace played on the swings. Danny received a phone call. He frowned at the caller id.

"Hello. Governor?"

"Hello Detective Williams."

"What can I do for you today?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at Chin.

"Well Detective Williams, I've tried to call Commander McGarrett, but it seems his cell is out of service at the moment. I was just wondering which team member he decided to take along on the undercover operation with him?"

Danny smirked. "Really. Hmmm. That would be Kono, Governor."

"Thank you Detective. Please could you let him know that I will make the arrangements today and forward the details onto him as soon as possible."

"Will do Governor." Danny ended the call and smiled at Chin who was by now very curious as to why Danny was grinning from ear to ear. "The rat."

"I don't follow, brah."

"Seems that Stevie-boy didn't tell us the whole truth yesterday."

Chin still seemed confused.

"He was able to choose who went on this undercover op with him and he happened to choose the rookie. Hmmm…"

"Danny. You don't think he…no." Chin looked as though he were struggling to put the pieces together.

"Yes Chin, yes I do. Funny thing is that if he had just asked us if we wanted to go you and I probably would have said no anyway." He laughed. "I can't believe this."

"Me neither, not sure if I even do." Chin looked bothered.

"The man is a pain in the ass, but he'll look out for her." Danny tried to lighten the moment as he noticed Chin looking extremely unhappy about the thought of his cousin and Steve.

"don't really want to think about it. Change of topic please."

They both turned and carried on watching as Grace played with a few kids in the park.

The blue SUV pulled up to the Ranch. Kono wasn't at all surprised at how beautiful it looked. She grew up on the island, but she still was in awe of the huge mountains that painted the background to the ranch beautifully.

"So I never asked, but is this the ranch we're investigating?"

"Nope. This is just for practice."

She nodded her head. "Not a bad idea since its been about eight years since I was last on a horse and even then that didn't go very well." She grabbed her back pack from the back seat as Steve grabbed his from the other side of the van.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you today."

They both headed for the administration block at the Ranch and were greeted by a friendly young woman. She was about 30 years old and had blonde hair that was tied neatly into a pony tail. She was slender and all around beautiful. Kono and Steve smiled at her as they approached.

"Hi. I'm Steve. This is Kono."

"Hi Steve… and Kono. I'm Tiffany." The woman seemed to give Kono a glance, but focused her attention on Steve. "I have your horses ready for you. Will you need a guide?"

Kono rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow at Steve.

"Ah, no thanks. We're good." He had noticed Kono's expression and smiled politely at the blonde in front of him.

"Are you sure? I'm not busy today."

"I'm sure, thanks. Uh, this way for the horses?" Steve started to walk towards where he saw two horses saddled up and ready to go. Tiffany was quickly walking alongside Steve and Kono giggled and followed them both.

Steve smiled at her and spoke to Kono as she joined them. "Ready to get going?"

"Yeah. Let's hope so." Kono turned to Tiffany. "Thanks Tiffany. We'll see you later." Kono pulled off a fake giggle perfectly and Steve wanted to burst out laughing, but restrained himself.

Tiffany seemed to get the message and walked away from the two. Steve called her back as she was walking away. "Um, actually Tiffany, I was thinking you could just give us one horse for today." She looked at him and then glanced at Kono as if sizing them up as a couple.

"Okay." She led one horse away from them.

"Um, I'm no expert, but I think you're doing it wrong." She watched him curiously.

"You think huh?"

"Yeah, I do." She was now smiling at him still watching as he set the horse up for himself, taking the saddle off, leaving just the reigns on the horse.

"You're going to have to get used to the horse before riding it by yourself. So, you'll be riding with me until you feel comfortable." He looked at her sheepishly, wondering if she would uncover his motives of having her near to him at least for a little while.

"And we're doing this bareback?" She raised an eyebrow. " Okay. You're the expert." She didn't really care about the motives, it seemed like a good enough plan.

Steve held out his hand for her to grab. "Ma'am."

"why thank you sir." He helped Kono up onto the horse. As she grabbed the reigns of the horse she looked down at Steve standing beside the great beast and smiled down at him. He was making sure she was comfortable when he noticed her staring at him. He looked up at her.

"Let's get this show on the road." He climbed up behind her on the horse. The heat of his body was pushed against Kono's back. She felt a little electric pulse shiver through her entire body and she adjusted herself slightly. He leaned into her and took the reins from her, wrapping his arms around her sides and letting his hands rest in front of her, draping over her thighs. His arms were strong and she wanted nothing more than to lean back onto his chest. She turned her head to the side, not looking at him, and spoke a little too softly to him.

"For the record. You know I can take a punch, a kick, hell even a bullet, but if I get bucked off of this horse there is going to be some serious trouble ahead." She smiled again at him.

Steve was paying attention to the small framed woman he was now engulfing with his arms. Her hair was incredibly close to his face and he could smell a sweet vanilla scent on her. He watched as her body shivered with his touch. _Oh she liked him, it was definite_. He brushed her arms with his as he took the reins and felt a lump in his throat as he tried to swallow the feelings that were being conjured up by this local beauty. He responded to her words. "Kono, have I ever let you down before?" She smirked in return. _No._

They rode for about an hour, taking in the beauty of the jungle area. Kono had lived on this Island for her entire life, but never felt the magic she was feeling as she rode, bareback, with Steve. They discussed a few subjects as they rode on, making small talk for at least half of their journey. They travelled through a small creek and around a few mountains before Steve stopped the horse.

"Look over there." Steve pointed to a small waterfall and pool tucked into the side of a mountain. "Should we do lunch there?"

"Looks good. Plus, my butt really hurts, I could use a break." Her words caused the Navy SEAL to laugh.

"Okay. Let's get you off this horse."

Steve jumped off the horse, still holding the reins in one hand. He walked the horse to a small tree and tied it up. He reached up and grabbed Kono by her waist and lifted her off the horse, catching her in his arms as her feet touched the ground. They seemed to stare at each other for a while. She continued to stare into his eyes and smirked when she said. "My butt really hurts." Steve felt the relief in tension and held her arm for a while as she walked out her cramp. They settled beside the pool of water after a while of walking around. They joked about how chasing bad guys after riding a horse for so long could end up dangerous to their health. They chatted for a while longer before Steve started to remove his shirt. Kono stared as he bared his masculine chest. His arms seemed perfectly toned and she couldn't help but stare at his tattoos. She pulled her eyes away as she noticed he caught her. Humour was her way out of any tense situation.

"McGarrett, just because you take me on a horse ride and feed me doesn't mean you can jump to conclusions."

"Ha. I never thought it would be that easy to impress you Kono." He noticed the look on her face as her joke had backfired. "I thought the water looked rather inviting. Up for a swim?"

Kono bit her lip as he retaliated against her humour. _He thinks about impressing me?_ "uh, sure. Why not?" She stripped her own tank top off to reveal a lavender purple bikini. It was Steve's turn to stare, although he did it more subtly than Kono had. He glanced out the corner of his eye, watching as she shimmied her jeans off to reveal her long slender legs. He moved towards her, invading her space with his presence. Kono swallowed hard as he neared her.

"Kono?"

"yeah?"

He smiled an evil grin at her. "Tell me how the water feels." With the words he picked her up bridal style and threw her into the water. He laughed at how she squealed and shouted words of revenge at him. She emerged from the water, wiping the water off of her face.

"Not cool McGarrett. Why don't you come in so I can get some revenge?"

"Okay, but watch out." He dive bombed right next to her, splashing her face full of water again. He made sure to exit the water far away from her, knowing that she would attempt to dunk him under the minute he emerged. They splashed around in the water for a while, swimming to and fro while chatting to each other. They both eventually ended up at the small waterfall that was cascading into the pool.

"So, what happened the last time you rode a horse?"

"What?"

"You said that the last time you rode a horse it hadn't gone so well. So what happened?"

Kono smiled at him, looking almost embarrassed to tell the story. "Well, I was young and stupid and in love."

"Oh. I love love stories." He was mocking her. She pulled a face at him in return.

"This guy I was seeing, was a bit of a bad influence and we ended up stealing a horse, thinking we would be able to just get on it and ride."

Steve laughed out loud. "And then?"

"Needless to say we didn't get very far, then we got busted and had to do community service to avoid getting a record. There, end of story." She smiled at his amused face. "Seriously not a great story."

"I don't know. I'd be interested to spend some time with the man that made Kono Kalakaua fall in love with him."

"Me too." Her voice was sad and she suddenly realised it, lifting her head up and smiling at Steve. "Race you to the other side?"

Steve noticed the glimmer of sadness in her eyes and took note to ask her about that later. "You're on. Looser buys drinks later."

They swam as fast as they could across the small pool. Kono had dived from a rock and was therefore well into the lead. She rushed to the end of the pool, as she touched the side she felt someone touch her ankle and she assumed it was Steve. She lifted her head out of the water only to find Steve next to her, on her other side. She looked at him in horror and confusion, turning her back to him to identify the person that touched her. Kono jumped backwards against Steve as she saw the body of a young man float next to her. Steve grabbed her as she jumped, not completely sure why she had done so. She didn't scare easily. That's when he saw the body float up from the weeds next to her. He quickly jumped out the water. When he was firmly on ground he reached back and pulled Kono out and held the visibly shaken woman closely for a few moments. "You okay?"

She looked at him and seemed to snap out of it. "Yeah, Yeah I'm fine. Just took me by surprise." She moved away from him and grabbed her shirt and jeans and slid her clothes back on. She spoke to Steve as he did the same.

"So we're going to ride back and call the cops?"

"yeah, you up for it?"

"Yeah of course or do you want me to wait here?"

"I don't think so, no weapons remember. We don't know who's out there. Best we go back together, get HPD and come back in the truck."

Steve quickly took a photo of the body with his cellphone. He helped her up onto the horse and quickly mounted the horse himself, this time sitting in front of Kono. "Hold on tight." She gripped his waist harder and rested her head against his back. Steve took control of the horse and soon they were flying through the jungle area. The adrenaline running through Kono's body was intense. Her hair was wet and gently slapping against her back as they galloped through the dense bushes. Every now and then Steve would turn his head to the side, making sure that she was still okay.

They arrived at the Ranch, Steve dismounted quickly, and helped Kono off the horse again. This time there was no time for stares or looking into each other's eyes. They were back to work. Steve ran into the admin block and called for Tiffany. She came out surprised to see them so soon. Steve instructed her to call HPD and tell them about the body. He had no cell service, so he used the Ranch's phone to call Danny.

"Well well well, if it isn't my buddy, pal and partner." Danny answered.

"Danny, I have no idea what you are on about, but I need you and Chin to come to the Ranch now."

"Oh, so now we're good enough for the ranch?"

"Danny, we found a dead body here. Can you come now?"

"A what? What is with you and finding dead bodies everywhere?"

"Danny, make it quick."

"Yeah yeah, I just need to drop Grace off, then we'll be there."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi Everybody! Thank you SOOOOOO much for the wonderful reviews! A special mention to shirik, don't worry, it's coming soon! **** Onwards with the next chapter. I hope to update again tomorrow! P.s. Excuse all the fluff and soppiness… I'm an addict! **

Chapter 3

Half an hour later Danny and Chin drove up in Chin's car. HPD had also arrived and Steve and Kono were about to take them to where they had seen the dead body. Steve walked towards Danny and Chin, while Kono spoke to HPD.

"Hey. So the DB is about a 15 minute drive from here."

"How, do tell me Steven, did you find yet another dead body in the jungle. I swear it's like they jump out at you."

Steve rolled his eyes and noticed Chin giving him an unsure look. He tried to figure out why the older man was looking at him so strangely, but decided it could wait for a later time.

"Kono and I were taking a swim…"

"A swim.. why that's lovely." Danny looked between Steve and Chin, waiting for Chin to agree, but he never did.

"Anyway.. we were taking a swim and the movement in the water must have caused the body to rise and well, it floated up next to Kono."

Danny suddenly stopped his banter, "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she was a bit freaked out at first, but she seems fine now. Tough one that. Can we head up there now?"

"Lead the way." Danny did not like the jungle and wasn't afraid to admit it.

They took Steve's van and drove as far as they could which meant they had about a 5 minute walk to the area where they had been swimming. They all started walking towards the waterfall, followed by HPD and the coroner.

"Wow, this area is really…secluded." Danny was fishing.

Steve was still confused at his riddles. "What is the issue Danny?"

"Oh, nothing, just observing nature."

They walked up to the pool where the body had been found. Kono and Steve looked at each other in confusion. The body was gone.

"So, where's your body?" Danny asked again.

"It was here. There is no way it could have sunk that fast." Steve looked confused.

"Here." Chin finally spoke. "Drag marks, somebody has removed your body."

Steve sighed in disbelief. "Okay, Chin get HPD to search for evidence around the area."

"Kono, take my phone and try and see if you can get an identity from the picture we took earlier, it's a long shot, but may as well try." She nodded and headed with Chin back to the parked cars.

"Oh, so you were taking pictures were you."

"Yeah, of dead bodies. What is your problem Danny?"

"Nothing, but oh yeah. The Governor says hello and that she will have your arrangements for 'whoever' you chose to go with you on your undercover op ready by the end of the day."

Steve sighed. "Danny…"

"No, I totally understand. Really I do. You wanted to go on a mission with the lovely Kono, but you could have at least covered your motives a little better."

Steve shook his head and then had a sudden realisation. "Is this why Chin is giving me the evil eyeball? Have you been putting ideas in his head all day?"

"Not ideas Steven, facts."

"Butt out Danny." With the words he walked away from his partner in utter disbelief that he was insinuating things that maybe he did want to happen, but at the moment they were untrue.

They gathered at the ranch about an hour later. Kono was working on Chin's laptop in the trunk of his car. Her cousin was staring at her rather obviously for a while.

"What Chin?"

"Nothing." He turned around and was beginning to walk away when suddenly he turned again, walking up to his cousin. "Is there something going on with you and McGarrett?"

Kono looked flabbergasted. "What? What would make you think that?"

"Danny. He said that Steve chose you to go on this mission because he wanted to spend time with you."

"Danny is way out of line here Chin."

"You haven't answered my question."

"No, there is absolutely not." She seemed uncertain of her answer and Chin noticed.

"Kono, the last thing you want is to get a bad reputation, especially with my history with HPD. Having something with McGarrett will only make it worse and McGarrett should realise this."

Kono was now getting angry. "Excuse me Chin, but the last time I checked I was the one living my life. You can't keep trying to protect me from everything. I can take care of myself and I do not need my older cousin dictating my life to me."

"I'm just looking out for you because I care. Is that so bad?"

"It is when you try to prevent me from living my life, my way. What if I die tomorrow Chin?" He looked away from her gaze at the words. "Then what huh? I've got a good reputation and nothing else."

"Kono.."

"Enough, I have work to do." She calmed her voice and stared back at the laptop.

Steve and Danny walked over to the cousins, unaware of their argument, but as soon as they got near they could feel the tension. Steve looked at Chin, who looked away from him, then at Kono who had refused to look up from the laptop until she was spoken to directly.

"Got anything yet Kono?"

She quickly concentrated on her work, trying to put aside her emotions from her argument with Chin. "Yeah, from the photo you took I got a couple of hits, it's a bit of a jump due to the body being bloated, but I think I've pin pointed who he his. Name is Terry Porter."

"Good Work. What can you tell us about him?"

"He works at a ranch nearby…Happy Days Ranch..wow.. that name is so bad!"

Steve seemed to remember something. "Happy Days Ranch is the place where we're going under cover."

They all looked at each other. "So you think this will be related to our case?" Kono asked.

"Possibly. If the body was dumped at Happy Days Ranch then it could have floated downstream here, to this ranch. Danny, Chin. You two need to go to the ranch and question the employees about Mr Porter. Find out his job and who reported him missing. They might be the person we need to speak to when we're undercover."

Danny and Chin nodded and walked towards the front of Chin's vehicle. The cousins shared a look before Kono closed the laptop and then the trunk of Chin car, allowing them to leave the area. She headed for Steve's van.

"Kono?"

"Yeah?" They were walking side by side to the truck.

"Are things okay with you and Chin?"

She could tell he had noticed their attitude to each other, but decided that it was her problem, not his to deal with. "yeah, things are fine."

"It didn't look fine just then."

She stopped and turned to face him. "Steve, we're cousins, we fight, always have and always will." She smirked at him. "Lucky for me, I never loose a fight!" With that she turned back towards the van and loaded her stuff inside. "You coming?"

Steve had watched her as she walked away. _Sassy_. That was the word to describe her, even though it did sound very old fashioned he noted to himself. He followed her to the truck and pulled away from the crime scene. Driving along the highway a thought arose in Steve's mind. He smirked.

"So I was thinking the Hilton Village."

"Excuse me?"

"Where you're buying me my drinks tonight." The smug look on his face caused Kono to scoff at him.

"Right, as if you won McGarrett. You know I beat you."

"Well, its debatable."

She shook her head. "No, its really not and thanks for bringing it up. I almost forgot how thirsty I was." She cocked her head to the side, awaiting a reaction from him.

"Fine. I'll play along. Drinks tonight after we're finished at the office."

She smiled to herself. She was going for drinks, with her boss. "I'm going home to shower first though, I smell like a horse."

"I think you smell fine."

She looked over at him, almost horrified at what he said. "You need your head read boss."

They got back to the office and waited for Chin and Danny to arrive. It was already late afternoon and the sun was descending close to the horizon before their two partners made their way back to the bullpen.

"Whats the story?" Steve started straight away, eager to get work over with for the day.

"The story, oh fearless leader, is that this Porter guy was supposed to be on leave for 3 days and when he didn't show up for work yesterday the secretary reported him as missing. Apparently he was a real reliable guy, had worked there for almost 2 years and never missed a day of work."

"Did you check out his room?"

"Yes we did. Apart from his normal clothes, accessories etc there was nothing of value in the room. HPD are trying to locate his phone, but no luck so far. What is the plan for the rest of the day?"

Steve smiled at Danny. "We're done for today Danny, you can go home. Spend the day with Grace tomorrow, we'll reconvene on Monday."

"Oh, wow, that's very gracious of you." Danny's sarcasm noted again.

They all started packing up their things. Kono was grabbing her back pack and heading out the door when she saw Chin staring at the photos on his desk thoughtfully. She braced herself and walked up to his office door, gently knocking before she entered. Something she had never done before. He looked up at her and smiled faintly at her, inviting her to enter. She watched him for a few seconds.

"You were so young in this picture." He pointed to the frame he now held in his hands.

"Yeah, I was." She bit her lip and a look of worry enveloped her face. "We're good right?"

Her cousin looked up to her face. He still saw her as the innocent sweet girl that he had helped raise. He struggled to see her as the brave, independent woman standing before him. "Kono, I'm just trying to look out for you."

"I know Chin, but.." she trailed off a little. "Please try and understand what I've been telling you. I'm not that little girl anymore."

He nodded silently. "I know."

Kono turned to leave his office, stopping at the door and looking back at him. "I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah, I see you then." He winked at her, indicating that they would be just fine. She smiled in return and left the offices.

She arrived home about 20 minutes later, having caught a ride with Danny, avoiding his insinuations the whole way back to her place. She ran to her apartment and quickly jumped in the shower. She turned off the water, dried herself off and made her way into her bedroom. She stared at her closet as if were a bomb she was trying to defuse. Deciding what to wear was going to be an issue. A dress would imply that this was a date, and it was most certainly not. Shorts would be too casual. She decided on a pair of light blue skinny jeans, black calve high boots and a tight fitting black top. She ruffled her hair loosely and it seemed to fall perfectly to her shoulders. She applied very light, subtle make up. She took one last look in the mirror before she headed out the door of her apartment, almost frolicking to her car. _You're such a girl._ She thought to herself.

Kono pulled up to the parking lot of the Hilton Hawaiian Village. She scanned the area looking for Steve's truck, eventually she saw it parked in the far corner of the lot. She smiled when she saw a free space next to it and promptly parked her car next to his van. He wasn't in is truck. She walked through the reception area and was met by the matridee at the entrance to the restaurant.

She smiled at him. "Hi, I'm looking for a friend of mine."

"yes ma'am. He's waiting for you. This way." Kono grinned to herself as she was being ushered to a table outside. There he was, casually waiting for Kono, watching the live band perform. He was dressed in a dark blue shirt and cargo pants, obviously he had decided to go home and shower too. Kono thanked the matridee and ensured him that she could walk the rest of the way unaccompanied.

"This seat taken?" Steve almost gave himself whiplash he had turned his head so fast. He jumped up from his seat and pulled the chair away from the 2 seater table, allowing her to sit before nudging it in. "Hmpf. Its not true what they say."

Steve pondered for a second, "What's not true?"

"Chivalry isn't dead." She grinned at him and pulled the drinks menu to herself as she noticed his charming smile staring back at her.

"Almost thought you weren't coming."

"Well I did and here I am. So what we drinking?" Kono noticed the waitress coming over to the table and stood awaiting their order.

"Just beer for me."

"Same."

They both watched the band play for a little while before their drinks arrived. There was a awkward silence in that time. Both not really knowing what to say to each other.

"So…" Steve started. "Are you and Chin okay now?" The last thing he wanted was to cause problems for their relationship and he was hesitant to bring up the subject, but he needed to know that they were okay.

She smiled sweetly at his concern. "Yeah, we're fine. He just gets…overprotective sometimes."

So he did have a problem with him wanting to spend time with her. He sighed at the revelation and Kono seemed to pick up on his anxiety about the issue.

"I think he feels guilty because of his past with HPD and how it could affect me. I keep telling him that I don't care what they all think, but he doesn't listen."

"I'm sure he just wants you to have the best career you can."

"Yeah, I agree, but being sheltered from everything isn't going to make me a better cop."

Steve nodded his head in agreement with her. "Him protecting you though isn't going to make you a worse one." Kono looked at him, slightly confused. Did he agree with her cousin? He noticed the scowl on her face and quickly added to his sentence. "What I mean is that we all need someone to watch out for us every now and then."

She relaxed a little at his continuation. "Well I have all three of you constantly watching out for me and as much as its cute sometimes, I have to tell you that it can be really annoying at other times."

"Cute?" A raised eyebrow sent shivers pulsating through his companion.

Kono's face suddenly seemed hot. A pink blush flushing her cheeks. She quickly tried to downplay the situation. "Yeah, cute like the care bears."

Steve nodded at her statement and in appreciation of the slight blush on her face. They finished their beers and ordered another round before Steve started to probe for more answers out of the mysterious beauty seated beside him.

"I have one more personal question for you." He took note of the dissatisfied look on her face. "After this, I promise, no more."

"okay, shoot."

"What happened to the guy in your horse story?"

She swallowed hard at the question. It brought up memories she didn't exactly want to relive. She looked towards the napkin she was now holding in her fingertips and started fidgeting with it. Steve's brow furrowed. He had never seen her so distracted by her own thoughts before. He reached out his hand over the table and closed it around hers, stopping the fidgeting. She looked up and him and tried to hide the hurt in her eyes with a unconvincing smile.

"He passed away."

"I'm sorry Kono." His words were genuine and if Kono could have brought herself to look into his eyes she would have been able to see the compassion that he felt for her.

"Yeah, I am too."

He gave her a questioning look. "What is it? What happened to him?"

Kono finally lifted her face and looked Steve in the eyes. Her own eyes starting to shimmer. She blinked profusely in an attempt to control the side effects of her emotions. "He was in a car accident, with me. Shortly after we had done our community service." He allowed her to complete her story, all the while rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. She swallowed hard again, clearing the lump forming in her throat. "We had been to a house party and were pretty out of it. We were both surfing for Coral Prince at the time so we had a lot of invitations coming our way. We decided to leave the party early and go for a spot of midnight surfing." She smiled at the memory of surfing with him, before bringing herself back to telling the story. "He was driving. We were laughing so hard that we didn't notice that he had gone onto the opposite side of the road." She breathed deep. "He swerved to avoid a oncoming car and we went over the embankment. He was killed instantly." She pondered the thought for a few moments before looking back at Steve and smiling, trying to avoid the emotions that were now swimming in her eyes. She cleared her throat and tried to change the subject. "Anyway, that's how things went. Enough about me though."

"Kono, you don't have to do that you know?"

"Do what?"

"Hide from me. You can tell me anything."

"Steve, I'm not that kind of girl. I don't share my deepest darkest thoughts over hot cocoa and marshmallows."

"Okay." He backed off, pulling his hand back to himself. He watched her as she fidgeted in her seat and looked around as if trying to find something to distract them from the conversation about her past. He decided to help her along with that. "Want to ditch this place?"

"And go where?" She was intrigued.

"Anywhere you want. The beach?"

"Maybe not. I think I should be getting home about now. Thanks for the beers."

"yeah sure. I was expecting my wallet to be a lot lighter by the time we left though."

"You have a wallet. I think Danny would disagree." He smiled at her as he stood from the table, watching her do the same.

"So, I'll see you Monday then?"

"Yeah, Monday."


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow! Its almost time for season 2! I'm so excited I cannot wait! I didn't get to watch SOTB, but I'll check it out on youtube tomorrow. Hope you guys enjoy the next chapter! P.s. I do not ride horses so sorry if some of the info is a little shaky! **

**Disclaimer: I would be permanently smiling if I owned them! But I'm not! **

Sunday had come and gone, and so had Monday. The team members of five-0 filed into the office. Kono had been the first to arrive and started working on the smart desk immediately. Steve and Danny walked in together and noticed Chin sitting in his office. Chin looked up and waved a greeting at both of them. He seemed in a better mood and for that Steve was grateful. The day had progressed like any other, they worked on their case and eventually called it a day at around 5pm. They had all gone their separate ways and were to meet up in the morning before Steve and Kono headed out on their undercover operation.

Tuesday had arrived, finally, Kono thought to herself. She hated being in the office so much and would rather work outdoors. She made her way into the offices and saw Danny, Steve and Chin talking around Danny's desk.

"Hey."

"We're just discussing the case." Steve turned from facing her and carried on talking to the group as a whole. "So Kono and are going in as a young couple having a week away from it all." Steve ignored the raised eyebrows he received from both Danny and Chin. "We'll be staying in a cottage behind the main admin block. We can't take any bugs with, the horses might spook and then they might get suspicious. The guy we are going to be keeping an eye on is Markus Chapman. He's been running the place for the last 8 months, when the reports started about the meth. We'll keep in contact with you via phone. Don't call us, we'll call you. Right, that should be it. Any questions?"

"No questions, just a statement…"

"Danny!" Steve warned him .

"What? I don't even get to have an opinion anymore." He turned to Chin. "I'm starting to feel very hurt by this new partnership developing here." Chin gave Danny a smug smile, enjoying him teasing Kono and Steve.

Steve rolled his eyes and left the room, taking Kono with him. "You ready?"

"yeah, my stuff is in my car."

"I think we'll take my van. We'll leave in about 10 minutes okay?"

"Good."

All four members gathered at the vehicle once they had packed in their stuff.

"Well, good bye G.I. Joe, G.." He nodded at both Steve and Kono. "Behave yourselves."

"Bye Danny." Kono hugged her friend.

"We'll call in everyday around 10am." Steve noted as he headed towards his drivers door.

Chin walked up to Kono. "Be careful cuz."

She smiled at him. "I will." She pulled him into a hug and when she eventually let go she ran to the passenger door, climbing in and settling down. "Don't let Danny eat too much Pizza." She shouted as they drove off, waving back at them. She knew it would only be for a couple of days, but she would miss those two being around.

"Sooo.."She stretched out the word purposefully. "I hope you got some tips from Danny."

"Tips from Danny? What could Danny possibly give me tips on?"

"How to behave around a girlfriend." Steve looked surprised, but relaxed his facial expression when he saw the glint in Kono's eyes.

"I think we need to put a wager on this." He lifted his eyebrow as if asking if she was keen.

"Okay, what were you thinking?"

"Well, if by the end of our UC you still don't think I've done well as a boyfriend then… you can dare me to do anything and I'll have to do it."

"Anything is a bit broad."

"Okay, anything within reasonable limits."

"Still broad, but okay. I can live with that."

"I get the same courtesy if you admit that I've been good."

She nodded at him. "fine."

They pulled up to the Happy Days Ranch and Kono scrunched her face at the sign. Steve parked the van at the reception area and walked around to Kono's door. He opened it and held out his hand.

"I hope you know I did in fact pack my A Game." He smirked at her.

"Well, this should be interesting to say the least then." She smiled back at him as he helped her out of the truck. Steve manoeuvred his hand so that his fingers were entwined with hers. They both walked together into the reception area and checked themselves in.

"Mr McGarrett." Steve said introducing himself.

"Good day Mr McGarrett and Mrs McGarrett?" The lady at the reception desk seemed nice enough.

Kono looked up at Steve with a questioning face as if waiting to hear his answer.

"Not yet," he smiled down at her, "But one day." Kono half laughed at his answer, then turned and smiled sweetly at the receptionist.

"Please let me show you to your room." The lady walked around the desk and guided the couple out the door and to a small chalet at the back of the main building.

"Thanks Mandy." Kono read her nametag and followed, Steve close behind her.

They entered their room and said farewell to Mandy. Kono looked around the rather large one bedroom cottage. Steve placed their bags on the double bed in the room. The main room consisted of a double bed to one side and a small lounge area leading to double doors which revealed a deck overlooking the valley at the base of the mountains. A small bathroom to the side of the bedroom had both a shower and a bathtub inside. Everything they needed was there and Kono thought to herself how if they had really wanted to they wouldn't need to emerge from the cottage except to get food. She sat, bouncing, on the bed as Steve looked around.

"So what now?"

"Well, I think to make this more believable we'll have to stay in the room for a while, then we'll go and explore the area. Keen for a horse ride later?"

"If its in the job description I'm there. I wouldn't say keen though."

Kono reached into the side table next to the bed. "Ah ha." She revealed a pack of cards that had been in the drawer. "Wanna play rummy?"

Steve smiled at her. "yeah okay, we can play rummy."

They stayed in the room and played rummy for almost an hour. Eventually Steve pulled himself off the bed, holding out a hand for Kono to take. She acknowledged that it was time to get to work and took his hand, smiling a broad grin at him. No words were necessary and they walked out of the cottage and started to explore the ranch they were staying on. They first walked past all the stables, looking at the horses and secretly checking out the building inside. Nothing. They made their way around all the gated area and after what seemed like forever came full circle, back to the main building. They went inside to the small bar area and dining hall. There were two men sitting at the bar. One man stood as Kono neared the bar area, the other stayed seated and didn't seem interested that the couple had entered the room. The man now standing on Kono's right, Steve on her left, greeted her with a eager smile. She felt herself lean into Steve a little and he picked up on the movement and gave the man an extremely fake smile. The man nodded in return and began to speak.

"Hi. I'm Ronald. I work here. Horse trainer." He looked at Kono to see if she was impressed. She continued to smile politely at him. He was a ragged looking man. He was thin, had hair to his shoulders and seemed a little dirty, obviously from working on a ranch all day.

"Nice." Kono replied. "I'm Kono, this is Steve. We're here for a couple of days, just taking a break from city life."

Steve ordered two beers and pulled a chair out for Kono at the bar. She looked at him with a smirk on her face. "Thanks babe."

"Pleasure honey." The sarcasm was noted by Kono and she grinned even further.

That sat and talked at the bar for a while, telling Ronald about how Kono was an inexperienced rider and would probably need a lot of assistance. Ronald seemed more than willing to help the lady out. Normally Kono would have decked a man for looking at her like he was, but just continued to smile sweetly at him for the sake of the case.

After a short lunch Steve and Kono walked out to the stables to see if they could go for an afternoon ride. They met Ronald there and he introduced them to Jack, the trail guide and assistant. He was a strapping young man, around Kono's age. She smiled at him, rather flirtatiously Steve noted. He looked at her and then at the young man again. Kono gave Steve a look as if to communicating to him that he should stop stressing. They decided to go for a horse ride and Jack saddled up two horses for them. Kono looked at her horse with uncertainty.

"You're going to be fine." Steve stood behind her.

"I know." She tried to look confident.

Steve mounted his horse under the instruction of Jack. The young man then helped Kono onto hers. It was one of the most terrifying experiences she had ever been through. She could handle guns, bad guys, but having a large beast under you, controlling it with a thin piece of leather wasn't her idea of brilliance. She looked at Steve with a furrow on her brow.

"Don't over think it. Just go with the flow."

She nodded in response. Steve knew that when she was quiet it was generally because she was over thinking something. Jack held the reins for her and waited until she felt more comfortable before handing then back to her. Kono was so preoccupied with controlling the horse that she never saw the handler poke something into the side of the horse. The horse reared and then bucked. Kono was holding on for dear life. Jack made out that he was trying to control the horse. Steve quickly dismounted from his horse and went closer to Kono's horse, but it was too late. She couldn't hold on and the horse bucked, sending her flying forward through the air, hitting the ground hard when she landed on her back, have flipped over in the air.

"Kono! Are you okay?" Steve ran to her side.

She turned on her side, wincing as a rush of pain ran through her body. She tasted the dirt that had flown in the air as her body had dislodged it from the ground. She was in pain, but didn't think anything was broken.

"aaargh."

Jack ran to her side aswell. "I'm so sorry ma'am."

"Kono, where does it hurt?" Steve looked her up and down trying to figure out where the pain could be emerging from.

She sighed and let out a large breath. "My pride and everywhere else."

Steve shook his head at her and put his hand around her back and his other arm under her knees, scooping her up and carrying her to the nearest seat he could find. Her face was covered in dirt and she adjusted her body every now and then trying to work out the kinks that had suddenly formed. She looked up, only to see a definite frown on the face of her commander.

"I'm okay. Really. Just, I specifically said that if I got bucked off of a horse thee would be trouble."

He laughed at her. "That was on Saturday. Today is a new day. Come on, you need to take some aspirin and lie down for a while."

"I'm fine."

He bent down and whispered in her ear. "This is your boss speaking. That was an order, not a request." He raised an eyebrow at her and her knees seemed to go weak.

"Okay." She didn't whisper. "but only if I get carried to my suite." She raised her own eyebrows suggestively at him.

"For you, the world."

With that he picked her up and carried her to their cottage, only putting her down to unlock the door and open it. She limped to the bed and sat down, the relief showing on her face. Steve fetched her a glass of water and two aspirin and sat on the bed next to her as he offered it to her.

"Thanks."

"Why did the horse rear?"

Kono looked at him with a furrow on her brow, partly because the concern for her seemed to be short lived and the Navy SEAL was back to work.

"Don't know. I didn't even move, it just spooked I suppose."

Steve seemed disturbed with her answer. "I'm going to go check out that horse in a bit. You need to lie down for a while. I'll come back soon okay?" He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead before getting up and walking out the door.

Kono sat on the bed, stunned for a moment, but soon a girlish grin dawned on her face. She stood up slowly, feeling her body ache and walked towards the bathroom. She was determined to have a shower before she went to sleep. She undressed and climbed into steamy shower. The heat on her muscles seemed to bring her some relief and she could feel the aspirin taking effect. She stepped out of the shower and turned her back towards the full length mirror, adjusting her head to stare at the rather nasty bruise that started to form on her back. A small draft blew across her body. She felt uneasy. She looked around to figure out where it came from. That's where she noticed that the bathroom window was open. She grabbed a towel and walked towards the window, cautiously looking around to see if there was anybody around. She didn't see anybody so she closed the window and proceeded to dress in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, comfortable sleeping clothes. She drew back the covers to the bed, her hair was still slightly wet but she didn't have the energy to dry it completely, and soon found herself drifting into a peaceful sleep.

Steve walked around the stables, checking the perimeter as he stalked into the building. He passed a few stalls before he came upon the horse that Kono was supposed to ride. He opened the gate to the stall and slipped inside. He ran his hand over the horses' neck. He suddenly noticed a small patch of dry blood on the horses' leg. It was small and would seem rather insignificant to the untrained eye. Steve observed a little closer and a worried look passed over his features as he came to a sudden realisation. He quickly exited the stall when he heard the sound of voices coming towards the stable. He slipped out the back door of the stables and walked back to the cottage area. Opening the door to the cottage, he peered at the bed where Kono lay. She had obviously gone for a shower and was sound asleep. He noticed how she had moved to the centre of the bed and was effectively hogging both sides. Satisfied that she was sleeping peacefully, Steve opened the double doors leading to the porch and pulled out his cellphone. He dialled Danny.

"Hey. How are the two adrenaline junkies doing?"

"Hi Danny. Its okay thanks."

"And the rookie, is she enjoying all those sweaty beasts around her." Steve took note of Danny's intended innuendo.

"Actually, she got thrown from a horse today."

"What? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she didn't break anything. She's sleeping now. But.."

"Aargh, I hate it when you say that word."

"But, Danny, it seems it was planned. I found a needle mark in the horse she was meant to ride. I want you to check out two guys that work here. One is Jack Jensen and the other is Ronald Cornwell. Find out what you can about the two of them and send me a picture of Markus Chapman, the manager, I still haven't seen him."

"Wow, sounds like you two are in your perfect world. Danger, bad guys and the big outdoors."

"Yeah okay Danny." Danny took note of how tired Steve sounded.

"What's up Steve?"

He sighed a heavily burdened sigh. "I just don't feel right about this place."

"Okay. We'll look into these guys and get back to you soon."

"Thanks Danny. I'll call you later."

Steve ended the call and sat down in the wooden chair on the deck. He leaned backwards and was thinking about the day's events before he drifted off to sleep.

Kono stirred in the bed. She had been sleeping for almost two hours and observed how the sun was setting when she finally woke. She saw the porch doors open and slowly made her way to the double doors. She leaned against the frame and examined her partner asleep in the chair. She saw the peaceful side of him. She went to stand facing him. She stood, leaning on one leg, the other bent at the knee supported on the ground by her toes. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms. Steve woke up startled. He looked up to see Kono's tussled hair blowing in the gentle breeze, her face dark in comparison to the bright sunset background.

"Hey," he rubbed his eyes with his palms. "How you feeling?"

"I'm doing good, a little sore, but I'll live. You?"

"Me? I'm fine thanks. I'm not the one who got thrown off a horse."

Before Kono could reply she noticed out of the corner of her eye a figure walking towards their cottage. She stepped towards Steve, climbing on his lap, her legs on either side of his waist. He looked confused at first, but then followed her roving eyes. He played along, wrapping his arms around her waist as she straddled him in the chair.

"hmm… your back seems perfectly fine right now."

She laughed a little and leaned in to whisper to his ear. "I would be a great undercover agent." The smile she gave him seemed to generate a response in him. He pulled her closer. She swallowed hard at how their bodies gelled together. He shifted in his seat, straightening his back so that their eyes were level. Kono bit her lip in anticipation. Steve was breathing heavily ,though rhythmically and Kono's breathing pattern seemed to fall in line with his. She had wrapped her arms around his neck and their faces were extremely close. She fiddled with the hair at the back of his neck, all the while staring into his eyes. When she had assessed that the figure walking towards their cottage was no longer present she quickly moved to stand up on her own two feet, but Steve clung to her waist, eyeing her reaction. She smiled a cocky smile at him. "A-game remember?" And with that she stood and walked into the bedroom again, satisfied that she had her revenge on him for the moment before he threw her into the pool at the waterfall. Steve sighed in frustration, but quickly followed her into the bedroom. He cleared his throat and walked towards the bathroom talking to her as he entered it to turn on the shower.

"Should we go for dinner now?"

"Sure, I'll get ready in here while you shower." She started rummaging through her bag of clothes.

He closed the door behind himself and Kono could hear as he entered the shower. She briefly imagined him in the steamy room, but snapped out of her distracted mind in order to get ready for the evening. She picked out a dark blue, thin strapped sun dress that sat just above her knee. She paired that with a pair of black sandles and progressed to brushing her hair and styling it in a comfortable updo pinned with 2 hair sticks.

A knock coming from the bathroom door amused her. "Safe to come in?"

"Safe."

Steve entered the room wearing the white towel that had been provided in the room. His body gleamed as little droplets of water cascaded down his skin. Kono swallowed inconspicuously as she eyed him for a brief minute. It looked to Steve that she was looking for somewhere to run to. She turned her back to him allowing him to quickly change into his jeans behind her. He let out a low chuckle. "Safe."

She smiled and turned around again. It was so not safe. He stood their shirtless, wearing only his jeans. Kono watched him intently as he dressed into his black dress shirt. The casually smart look suited him. Steve observed her in return and decided to help alleviate some of the pent up tension that was beginning to make the room seem a hell of a lot smaller.

"I went and looked at the horse."

"Oh yeah? What did you find?" She was appreciative that she was now distracted from her own thoughts.

"Well, looks like Jack must have stuck a needle or something into the horse while you were on it, causing the horse to freak out."

"Why would he do that? He doesn't even know me."

"Not sure. I don't have a good feeling about his though. Something is not right here." He had finished dressing himself and after clipping his watch on and putting a few items in his pockets he gestured for the door. "Just be careful around the guy." Kono nodded at him and made for the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everybody! Sorry for the delay in update! I'm busy organising a dinner for 300 people so life is a little crazy at the moment! Thanks for all your continued support! Its awesome to wake up to all those review emails! **** Hope you enjoy the next chapter! **

**Diclaimer: Same as previous. **

They walked into the dining room and looked around before they found a table. There were a few other people inside, mostly people who worked at the ranch and one or two other guests. Steve pulled out a chair for Kono to sit and pushed it in for her as she seated herself. She smiled sweetly at him and he returned the expression. The waiter walked up to them and offered them drinks. Steve ordered a bottle of wine for them both. Kono looked at him with a funny expression on her face. He questioned her with his eyes.

"I don't do too well on wine. Makes me all giddy."

He nodded. "Well, I've learnt something new today. Give Kono some wine when I want her to be giddy."

She slapped his arm playfully and looked around the room. She saw Ronald at the bar, obviously having one too many drinks alongside Jack. She watched him carefully now that she had the new knowledge that Steve had shared with her. There was something about the guy, but what did he gain from her being injured. She turned back to face Steve and noticed that he was staring at her.

"you've got to stop that." She was being cocky again.

"Stop what?" He knew what she was talking about but loved the way she flirted with him.

"Staring. Its kind of creepy." She was still smiling.

Steve said nothing, only pulling her chair closer to his own. "And what would you have me rather do?"

Before Kono could answer the waiter interrupted and poured their wine into their glasses. For the remainder of their dinner they chatted quietly to each other, making their cover more believable. Every so often Steve would lean in and pretend to say something seductive into Kono's ear. She would smile stroke his arms or his chest in reply. Soft music played in the background and Kono was taken by surprise when Steve suddenly stood up and offered her his hand.

"May I have this dance?"

She said nothing, rather offered him her hand in answering him. He pulled her close to him as moved her to the centre of the small dance floor, enveloping her in his arms. She wrapped one arm around his neck, the other being held by his hand, close to his chest. He tightened his grasp at her hips. He stared down at her and eventually nuzzled his face to the side of her neck, subtly placing kisses on her neck. She leaned her neck to the side, allowing him more access to her. She closed her eyes at how good the feeling was. They moved slowly to the soft music in the background, almost forgetting everybody around them. They seemed lost in each other. Kono laid her head on Steve's shoulder and watched his chest rise and fall as he breathed deeply. Unbeknown to each other they both had a content grin on their faces. All of a sudden Steve felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Ronald staring at him. He instinctively gripped tighter on Kono's waist and made sure that he was slightly in front of her.

"Yes?"

"May I cut in?" The alcohol was strong on his breath and the man was swaying slightly.

Steve didn't even bother to look at Kono for an answer. "No, not today buddy." He turned back to Kono. He momentarily thought that the man had walked away, until he saw him in view again, this time standing behind Kono. Before Steve could put himself ahead of her again the man grabbed her arm and pulled her towards himself. Steve instantly saw the flush of anger on Kono's face. She could have easily decked him herself but decided to play the innocent victim for the sake of the case. "Ow. Let me go." She warned the drunk man who attempted to pull her towards him into a dancing stance.

Steve shook his head and was instantly in the man's personal space. Ronald let go of Kono as the Navy Seal approached him. "I told you, not today buddy."

"Steve…" Kono tried to stand between him and Ronald, "Lets just go babe." After looking into her eyes and seeing a glimmer there Steve was more than willing to leave, but when Ronald pushed Kono out of the way and lunged at Steve, hitting him in the face, Steve retaliated. Punching him in the gut. He didn't need to do more than that to the drunken man, who conceded after the first contact.

Jack walked up beside his co-worker and put his hand on his chest. "That's enough Ronald. Time to go." He turned to Kono, "Sorry about that ma'am. Sir."

Steve nodded, a small cut on his cheek-bone didn't go unnoticed by Kono. She walked up to him and cupped her hand to side of his face. "Lets get out of here." Steve wrapped his arm around Kono's shoulder and they walked straight to their cottage.

Steve opened the door and allowed Kono to walk in first. He sighed as he sat on the bed beside her. He looked at her arm and saw a red mark from where Ronald had grabbed her. He frowned. She saw the anger flicker over his face. "Its nothing Steve. The guy was a drunk jerk. I would have kicked his ass long ago, but decided not to since we are still UC." Without warning Steve leaned towards her and kissed her lips gently, drawing the kiss out for a few moments before pulling away. Kono licked her lips and her breathing started to pick up pace.

"I hated seeing him handle you like…"

This time it was Kono to capture his lips, not letting him continue with his sentence. She pulled him closer to her and he obliged. Their lips were colliding roughly against each other. Steve, still kissing her, adjusted himself on the edge of the bed, grabbed Kono by the waist and lifted her slightly, pushing her onto her back. She felt her bruises ache when she landed on the bed, but didn't bother about the pain in this moment. She held onto his shoulders as if her life depended on it. He leaned on one elbow as he hovered above her. His free hand finding her face and stroking it gently, eventually moving slowly to her neck and gradually started pulling off the straps of the dress. He found the zip on the side of her dress and slowly unzipped her. He pulled his lips off of hers and tugged on her dress, sliding it off her body to reveal her flawless figure to him. He swallowed hard and tugged his shirt over his head. Kono gasped at the sight of him. He held her gaze for a moment then lowered himself onto her again. Their bodies tangled with each other as they adjusted themselves, removing all remaining clothing from each other. Steve stopped for a moment a lifted his hand pulling out the chopsticks that were holding her hair up. Her dark locks falling onto her shoulders made her seem so sultry to him. He slipped his hand under her and rocked against her gently. Eventually all of their clothes were lying on the floor of the cottage and small steam started to mist up the windows. They made love. Each bringing the other to completion. There was no awkward moment afterwards. They had both made their way under the covers of the bed. Steve lay on his back cradling Kono in his arms, her hair cascading over his biceps as she lay her head on his chest, one hand resting near his heart. Kono smiled to herself and Steve felt the small giggle that she didn't release. He looked down at her as she lifted her face to his, questioning the laugh.

"So this is you're A game?"

He smiled to himself. "Impressed?"

She smiled and rested her head on his chest again. Soon she fell asleep to the rhythm of his breathing.

Steve woke up in the morning feeling rather tired. He looked to his side and saw Kono nestled against him, lying on her stomach, her back bare to him. He grimaced at the sight of the large bruise forming on her back. He adjusted himself in the bed so that he was on his side and ran his fingers across the edges of the bruising. He thought about how tough this woman was. She never complained about injuries she incurred on the job. Secretly Steve thought that she liked getting a bruise or two, proving to herself that she wasn't afraid of anything. He stared at her for the longest time, eventually he brushed her hair off of her back and to the side, causing her to stir. Her eyes shot open, but her head did not move from the pillow it rested on. She eyeballed Steve staring at her.

"Morning." He said it with a silly grin on his face causing a smile to break on her face. She lifted herself onto her elbows.

"Morning." Steve leaned towards her and kissed deeply for what seemed like eternity. Their lips parted and Kono's eyes involuntarily opened again. "Wow. That's quite a wake up call."

"We slept late."

"We had good reason to." She smiled brilliantly at him again.

Steve adjusted himself so that his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her above his own body. "I think we need a better reason."

A hearty laugh erupted from Kono. "That was cheesy man."

"hey."

"You want some water." She rolled over in the bed and grabbed the nearest item of clothing she could find, which happened to be Steve's dress shirt. She tugged it over her head and pulled on her shorts. Steve admired the way she looked in his shirt, almost as if she were drowning in it. She handed him a bottle of water and kissed him for a few moments before straightening herself and headed for the bathroom. She closed the door, deciding that she needed to freshen up a bit.

As if bad timing followed him everywhere, Steve's phone rang and he looked at the caller ID for a few seconds before answering. "Hey Cath."

If Kono had already turned on the shower she wouldn't have heard the words and she'd still be living on cloud nine. She stared at herself disappointedly in the mirror. _He was still seeing her?_ She felt like a fool. She had purposely left the door unlocked in case he had wanted to join her in the shower, but after hearing the name he spoke she decided to lock the door.

Steve spoke to Catherine as quietly as he could, not to hide anything, but he didn't want Kono jumping to conclusions. He heard the door lock and knew it was too late. She had heard him.

"Cath, this really isn't a good time."

"I was just wondering if you were ever going to call me again. I haven't heard from you in months."

"Cath…I just didn't want to hurt you."

"So its over? You could have at least replied to one of my messages."

"I wanted to, but not over a text."

"Okay, well, thanks for letting me know. See you around."

Kono was staring at the mirror, her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she was trying to listen to what Steve was saying to Catherine when she felt a sudden sharp pain in her neck. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small object lodged here. _A dart?_ She stumbled backwards and looked towards the window. It was open again. She stumbled again, this time holding herself against the wall. Her vision was starting to blur, but she could make out a figure climbing through the window. She tried to find the handle of the bathroom door, but it seemed to be lost in the haze of cloudiness starting to surround her. She felt the figure pull her up and lift her to the window, handing her over to somebody else. The last thing she heard was Steve calling her name before she passed out.

Steve had just ended the call with Catherine and was sitting on the edge of the bed, wondering how he would explain it to Kono. He heard a fidgeting noise from the bathroom. He sighed and stood, walking towards the door. He heard another noise. He called out to her. "Kono?" No answer. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. He called out to her again, this time raising his voice a little. "Kono!" He pushed the door in with his shoulder when he didn't get a answer for the second time. He stumbled into the small room, only to find it empty. He looked around confused as if he were sure she would reappear any second. His eyes caught an object on the floor. A tranquiliser dart. He looked towards the window and saw it open. Fear gripped his heart in a tight hold. He looked out the window and saw nothing there. He ran for the front door of the cottage and looked around. He saw no sign of her.

His phone seemed to fly into his hand from his pocket.

"Why good morning super Seal…"

"Danny!"

"What's wrong?"

"Somebody took Kono."

"What do you mean somebody took Kono?"

"She was in the bathroom and somebody tranquilised her and took her."

"What were you doing?"

"I was on the phone. What does that matter? I need all the information you have found on these people."

"Well, we found out the Mr Porter had two siblings. One is Mr Jack Jensen, his half brother and the other is Ms Tiffany Porter, she…"

"She works at the ranch where we found the body. She must have told them we were cops."

"Dammit Steve."

"What about Markus Chapman? Did you manage to get me a picture?"

"Yeah, Chin will send it to you now."

"And Ronald? What did you find on him?"

"Well.. this is disturbing. The man has a wrap sheet miles long. Starting with simple assault and escalating from there. Last thing he was convicted of was domestic abuse." A small silence followed.

"What aren't you telling me Danny?"

Danny let out a sigh which was heard by Steve over the phone. "He was charged with raping his wife, but they couldn't prove it and he was only convicted of the domestic abuse."

"Okay. I need to go and find Kono. Who reported Porter missing?"

"The secretary. Mandy."

"I think its time you get here Danny."

"On our way."

Steve ended the call and grabbed an ensemble of clothes. He heard his phone ping at the sound of a message. It was the photo from Chin. He opened the message and was surprised to see the photo of the man who had been sitting at the bar the first day that they arrived. He hadn't seen the man again after that. He ran out the door of the cottage and straight to where Mandy was.

"Mr McGarrett. Are you enjoying your stay?"

"No. Mandy, I'm Commander Steve McGarrett and the lady with me is Officer Kalakaua. Somebody took her out of our room a few moments ago and I need your help to find her.

The surprised look on her face was unconvincing.

"Mandy! Her life is in danger. You have to tell me everything you know. I know you called about Porter being missing. What can you tell me?"

Mandy looked around the room as if watching for spies. "Terry Porter found out that Mr Chapman was cooking up drugs in an outbuilding here. He was going to phone the cops, but then he disappeared and we never saw him again." She looked tearful.

"Where is that building, Mandy?"

"Its on one of the abandoned trails between here and the end of the properties' border fence." She pulled out a map and showed him the area.

"The police are on their way Mandy. You tell Detective Williams where I am when he gets here, okay?"

She nodded in reply and watched as the Navy Seal ran from the building and towards the stables. Steve found a horse that was saddled up and mounted it. He left nothing but dust in his wake as he galloped after the men who took Kono, hoping that she was still alive and unhurt.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi Everybody! So I decided to not keep you waiting too long! **** A chapter dedicated to Shirik… hopefully this satisfies your needs! **** Hope you enjoy! I'm super duper excited for next week! Even though my dinner is on the same night! Hopefully I'll be able to download straight after! So this is as far as I've written.. no chapters ahead to keep you busy while I write, so hopefully I can get inspired tonight and write another 2 chapters! *holding thumbs***

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing… wishing isn't helping! **

Kono was starting to come out of her daze. She felt the sun beating down on her body and was slightly confused as to why she was feeling a small pain in her ribs. She pulled herself out of the daze and realised that she was on a horse, lying on her stomach, her hands were tied. Her dark hair cascaded over her face making it difficult to see. She lifted her head and saw the rider of the horse look down at her as she stirred. It was Ronald. Kono's breathing started to get heavier. _What was she doing here?_ She looked at the shirt she was wearing. Steve. _Did they take him aswell? Did he know they had taken her_? She tried to look around but she was restricted by her restraints. She started to remember what had happened. She knew they hadn't taken him, because he had been on the phone with Catherine when they took her. She sighed and hoped that he hadn't thought she had run away from him. After another 10 minutes of riding they finally stopped. Ronald jumped off the horse and pulled Kono onto her feet as he did so. She looked around and saw a small building. It looked like it used to be used as a cabin. She was shoved towards it by Ronald and only then noticed the other two men that were accompanying him. Jack and the silent man at the bar. Ronald pushed her inside the building. It was filled with chemicals and jars everywhere. This must have been where they manufactured their meth. Kono took a deep breath.

"Well officer. Nice of you to join us on this lovely day." It was the silent man. "Oh, my apologies. I'm Markus and this is my humble factory."

Kono stared at the man, refusing to show fear. "What do you want with me?"

He scoffed. "Well, firstly I would like to know what you know about my business and then I think Ronald said something about having a dance with you."

Kono swallowed hard as she saw the glint in Ronald's eyes. _Let him try it._

"So, are you going to tell me or are we going to have to force you to."

"We don't know anything. That's why we're here."

"oh in that case, Ronald you can let her go." He laughed loudly and Kono's face hardened even more.

Markus ushered for the two men to leave him with her and they obliged, walking outside and closing the door behind them. The man pulled up a chair and forced Kono to sit on it. She stared at him with all the hatred she could muster up at that time.

"Officer, you must realise that me, well, I'm just into the money from these drugs. Ronald on the other hand, he likes to have fun with the customers. Now, I've told him that he is not allowed to touch you while you are being cooperative, but if that should change…" he trailed off.

"I told you, we don't know anything."

"You must know something if they sent you here in the first place."

"We heard of a possible drug issue, if we didn't find anything we couldn't report it."

Markus bent down to her level and brushed his hand over her face. "Pity. It would have been so much better to have you around for a while."

Steve had been riding fast for the last 10 minutes. He couldn't have been that far behind them. He saw the rooftop of a small building ahead and slowed his horse down. He dismounted and tied the horse to a nearby tree. He stalked towards the house slowly. He didn't have a weapon so he knew he would have to use other tactics. He came up to the side of the house and peered in through one of the windows. He sighed in relief at what he saw. She was alive, being stubborn as usual, but still alive. He smiled a little before he heard the distinctive sound of a weapon being cocked ahead of him. He looked up to see Ronald standing before him, weapon pointed directly at him. He slowly rose to his feet and put his hands in the air. He needed to get closer to the man to be able to disarm him. He inched closer, but was promptly stopped in his tracks when he was knocked over the head with a large plank. Steve fell to the ground, seemingly out of it. The two men dragged Steve into the cabin.

Kono watched as the door to the cottage opened and gasped when she saw Steve being dragged in by the other two men. Markus got a cocky grin on his face when he saw that the only person who could rescue her was being dragged in, barely conscious.

"Well, this changes things a bit doesn't it?" He looked towards Kono again, the fear in her eyes was evident. "Tell me what you know and I'll let him live. If you don't tell me what you know, then Jack over here is going to take him outside and put a bullet in his head."

Kono frowned. "I don't know anything." It sounded more like pleading than anything else.

Markus seemed to get a little angrier now. "Fine." He motioned for Jack. "Take him outside and put a bullet in his head. We don't need him anyway."

"NO!" Kono tried to get off her seat, but she was restrained by Ronald. "I don't know anything, I swear." She fought with all of her strength to get to Steve, but Ronald hit her alongside her face and made her fall to the ground. He kicked her twice in the stomach while she lay there. She lay her head on the ground and the tears started rolling down her face as she saw the door close behind Jack. She felt completely useless. She really wished that Danny and Chin were outside and would be able to save him. She could see the shuffling of feet through the crack at the bottom of the door. A single gunshot rung through the air and she closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face as her whole body went limp. She whispered his name as if he could hear her. "Steve."

Jack walked back into the room. Kono had been hoping that Steve had gotten the upper hand and it was his feet she would see entering the door. She seemed defeated lying on the ground, whimpering to herself. Ronald picked her up roughly. "What are we going to do with this one boss?"

"Do what you want with her. Just make sure that she never speaks to anybody ever again. The buyers are coming to meet me here any minute. So make it quick."

Kono didn't have the energy to fight as she was pushed towards the door of the shack again. The bright light shone in her face and she squinted her eyes when she was taken outside. She looked around for Steve. She saw a small pool of blood on the ground and drag marks leading to behind the shack. She suddenly found a little energy to attempt to fight off her captor. He was strong though and quickly subdued her attempt to get to see Steve's body. He dragged her to off the path and into a jungle area, pushing her against a tree. She fell at the base of the tree and seemed to be caught in a moment of disbelief at what had just happened. Anger was now starting to take over her emotions. Ronald attempted to grab her by the shirt, Steve's shirt. In one swift movement she raised her bound hands and they connected with his jaw bone fiercely, sending him stumbling backwards. She kicked the man in the leg and attempted to run past him, but he caught her leg and she fell to the ground hard. Kono attempted to crawl away, but soon he was sitting on her back, pinning her to the ground. She felt him pressing against the bruises on her back roughly. She was bracing herself for him to begin fondling her when all of a sudden the weight on her back got lighter. She heard the footsteps of another fumbling around the jungle. She heard the sound of fists hitting flesh. She couldn't seem to move, she wanted so badly to get up and see who her rescuer was, but her body was frozen in that moment. Suddenly all the noises stopped. She finally managed to shuffle to her knees, she turned, looking towards where the scuffling noises had been coming from. Her eyes got wide and she took in a sharp breath. _Steve._ Her eyes immediately started to fill with tears, leaving clean streaks on her dirt covered cheeks. He was alive. He limped over to her, keeping his shoulder in one place. No words were spoken between the two. He lifted her up and as fast as lightening he had removed her binds. She stared at him while he fiddled with the ropes, almost not believing that he was really there. He pulled her in to his chest and hugged her tightly and kissed her head. She still couldn't believe it. He let her go and cupped her face with both hands, wincing in pain as he did. He wiped the tears falling over her cheeks with his thumbs. She was breathing heavily again, searching his eyes with her own. He kissed her slowly and passionately.

"How?" The word was a whisper on her lips.

"I'll never leave you Kono." He smiled at her. "Are you okay?" She nodded and looked at the blood soaked shirt he was wearing. "Jack. He shot me in the shoulder and hid me behind the shack. Somehow I don't believe he likes being a part of all this. We best get going, the buyers will be here soon. Danny and Chin should be on their way."

Steve was still staring at her when he noticed a reflection off of something in the corner of his eye. He pulled Kono to the ground as gunfire started heading in their direction.

"Run." He grabbed her hand with his good one and they started running in the opposite direction of the gunfire, ducking to avoid being hit. They seemed to be running at record breaking speed and soon they didn't hear gunfire anymore. They were deep in the jungle before Kono couldn't see the sky through the thick trees up above. She slowed down, her body beginning to feel the stress of the last two days. She was breathing rapidly and eventually stopped running, resting her hands on her knees.

"Can't…" She indicated that she needed to rest.

Steve looked around. "Okay. We'll rest here for a bit. He ushered her to a rocky area on the side of the mountain. He sat on a rock and closed his eyes for a few moments, scrunching up his face at his wound that was bleeding profusely. Kono watched him and eventually she walked over to where he sat. She remembered the days' events, especially the part about Catherine. She moved to lift his sleeve so she could see the wound more clearly. "I'm fine, it's okay."

She scowled her face at him. "Don't be even more of an ass. Let me see." She gave him a warning look at which he allowed her to asses his injuries.

His eyes wondered over her face as he watched her concentrate on his bullet wound. He felt the need to explain himself for the earlier phone call. "Kono, about earlier…"

"Don't." It was short and to the point, nothing else.

"Kono, I need…"

"You don't need to do anything."

"Yes, I do"

"Not now." The two words stung Steve. She had spoken so softly and he could sense the hurt in her voice.

Kono lifted his shirt over his head and started ripping it into bandage size pieces. "Looks like a through and through, but you'll need to keep some pressure on it." She tied the pieces of fabric around his shoulder, pulling a little tighter than she needed to when she knotted it.

"Okay.." He winced again. "Thanks." Suddenly he started to feel dizzy. His body swayed a little and Kono grabbed him on his sides.

"You feeling okay?" When he didn't answer straight away Kono started to get worried. "Steve?"

"Yeah. Fine. I think I'm just a little dehydrated."

"I swear Steve, if you make me carry your ass through this jungle we are going to have such issues." She sighed. "We best try get back to the ranch. They wouldn't try anything there." As she said the words she heard sirens in the distance. Thank God. "Come on." She slid her arm around Steve's waist and swung his good arm over her shoulders. She was weak, but Steve was in worse shape. They limped down through the jungle. Occasionally Steve would glance at her, examining her facial expressions. They seemed cold to him. Something he never thought he would see coming from her. She stared straight ahead at the path before them. Eventually they were nearing the area that the shack was located at. Kono took her arm away from Steve's waist and made him sit behind a tree. "I'll be back in a few seconds. Wait here."

"No, Kono don't." He grabbed her arm.

She paused at the touch of his hand and closed her eyes when she answered, speaking softly to him. "I need to see if Danny and Chin are there or if we need to stay hidden for a while. I'll be back in a few minutes. Stay here. Okay?"

Steve had no choice but to let her go. He was starting to feel the effects of loosing so much blood and in reality he wouldn't have made it up the small embankment without resting first. She stared at him for a second before turning and making her way up the embankment, trying to be as quiet as possible. She reached the top of the small hill and slowly lifted her head to peer over and assess the situation. She sighed in relief at the sight of Danny pacing and waving his hands at anybody he could.

"Danny!"

"Kono. Babe, are you okay?" He ran to the edge of the embankment, swiftly jumping down to her level. He hugged her tightly then stepped back to assess her condition. She was covered in dust and had a nasty bruise forming on her face, not to mention that she was covered in small cuts and scrapes.

She nodded in his arms and wrapped her own arms around his shoulders. She was so close to tears she had to clear her throat to avoid sounding squeaky when she spoke. "Steve is down there. He needs a medic."

Danny sighed in relief at hearing they were both alive. "Is he in bad shape?"

They both moved down the hill towards where Steve rested. Steve looked up when he heard the sound of shuffling ground. When he saw that it was his partners he relaxed against the tree again.

"Hello. Earth to Rambo." Danny was waving his hands in front of Steve's face.

"What?"

"What happened?"

Steve started to stand, supporting himself with the tree. "Long story. Did you get all of them?"

"We've arrested Markus and Jack, not to mention a couple of goons running around with guns."

"And Ronald?"

"He wasn't at the cabin. We didn't think he was at the scene."

Steve looked at Kono with worried stare. "Search the jungle. He's got to be here somewhere."

Danny and Kono helped Steve up the embankment and directed him to the medic that was waiting for him. As soon as she saw he was in capable hands, Kono walked away towards the camaro. Steve looked around for her as the medic evaluated him. He spotted her sitting in the camaro, her legs out the open door. She rested her elbows on her knees and her face was buried in her hands. If Steve hadn't of know any better he would have thought she was crying, but knew she wouldn't allow herself to do that in the presence of her team members. Danny looked at Steve, then followed his line of sight. He noticed the look of helplessness on Steve's face.

"What you do?"

"What?"

"The way you're looking at our rookie. What did you do?"

"It doesn't matter Danny."

"Obviously it matters or you wouldn't be looking at her like that."

Steve shook his head and climbed into the ambulance, not daring to look at Kono again under the watchful eye of his partner.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: HUMBLEST APOLOGIES for the late update! As I said before, this dinner has gotten me so hectically busy I can barely breathe! So excited for tomorrow (That is when I'll get to download episode 2x01. Yay! Herewith the next chapter. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of it! **

After waiting for an agonizing three hours for the doctors to deliver some word on Steve's condition the three members of Five-0 finally sighed in relief at hearing that he would be fine. He would need some rest after his surgery, but the doctors informed them that they would be able to see him in a few hours. Danny opted to stay at the hospital until he woke up while Chin dropped Kono off at home so that she could freshen up before returning to the hospital.

Kono leaned with one handing bracing herself against the shower wall. The effects of the day were catching up on her body and she ached from head to toe. The pain seemed mild in comparison to the turmoil that her heart was in. _Steve had been seeing Catherine the whole time?_ Why then had he been flirting with her for the past couple of weeks, not to mention the previous nights events? She thought she knew him. Spending more than sixty hours a week with someone would be a justified reason to think that you knew them. She would never have classified him as a player. _Never_. _Maybe Chin was right?_ This, whatever they were doing, was already getting too complicated. They both needed to be able to concentrate on their jobs and that wasn't going to happen as long as they were tip toeing around each other. She decided she would go and speak to him. She needed to sort out the jumble of emotions she was going through. If anything, they could at least still be friends.

Danny sat beside Steve's bed trying to find something to occupy his mind with while he waited for him to wake up. He had called Grace and said goodnight, read a couple of magazines and was now getting a little bored of it all. When he finally heard movement next to him he sat up straight in his seat.

"Well good evening Sunshine."

"Danny?" Steve squinted his eyes and eventually managed to pry them open to see the delighted face of his partner next to his bedside.

"Who else would you expect to sit and wait around for you to catch up on some sleep?"

Steve pulled a face, either from moving his injured arm or at the comment, Danny wasn't sure.

"Where are the others?"

Danny gave an all knowing smile. "Others or Kono?"

"Danny, really? Right now, you're going to give me grief."

"I'm just stating the very obvious, that's all."

Steve gave Danny a look and then fell silent as if waiting for him to answer the question.

Danny understood. "She went home to get cleaned up." He paused for a minute. "And now it seems that she's clean." Steve followed Danny's line of sight. Kono was standing in the corridor, conversing with a nurse. "What happened Steve?" Steve was surprised at his partners gentle manner.

With downcast eyes he finally opened up to his friend. "Catherine called."

"What? You still didn't tell Catherine it was over? You told me you were going to do that months ago."

"I know Danny. I just never got round to it."

"Have you been seeing her?"

"No, avoiding her."

"Well…" Danny stood up to leave the room. "I'm going home to get some rest. Looks like you've got a lot of explaining to do." He walked out of the room and gently rubbed Kono's arm as she walked past him in the corridor, on her way to Steve's room.

"Hey." She stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Her hair was slightly wet from her shower he presumed. There was also a distinct mark on her face where she had been hit, which she had not so obviously tried to cover up.

"Hey. Come in, please."

She hesitated, not sure that this would be the best time to have the conversation she was about to, but slowly walked into the room and stood at the foot of the hospital bed, resting her hands on the metal frame.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks to you." He was trying to keep eye contact with her, but she avoided him.

"I'm really glad you're okay." She frowned a little. "Steve, we need to talk."

"I know." He adjusted himself in the bed so that he was sitting up straight. "I owe you an apology. I'm so sorry that I hurt you, Kono."

"So there is a reason for me to feel hurt?"

"yeah. I never officially ended things with Catherine. I wanted to, but I never did. I haven't seen her for months. I avoided her. That's why she called."

"So she was on the assumption that you were still together?"

"Not really. I think she wanted some closure, an official ending."

"So why if you were avoiding her for all these weeks, did you then answer the phone this morning?"

"Well, after everything you and I …I just didn't want there to be any mixups." He sheepishly smiled to himself. "I did a great job huh?"

"Yeah, not one of your stronger points." She paused, as if she were contemplating her next words carefully.

"Kono?"

"Steve I can't do this. No matter how I feel I just think that this was kind of a warning as to how messy this could get. You're the boss and I'm the rookie and.."

"Kono I don't care about that stuff."

"I do. My whole career will be based on the decisions I make now. I can't afford getting a label." The words didn't sound like her own. She turned to walk out of the room.

"Kono…wait." He wanted to get up and walk over to her, but he was tied down by all the tubes in his body. He knew it wasn't what she really wanted.

She turned her head to the side as she walked towards the door, not daring to look into his eyes. "Steve, please don't. You owe me that much. Just …" She sighed heavily as if it were suddenly hard for her to breathe. "… I just need the space right now."

He watched as she walked out the door, not looking back at him. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He leaned back onto the pillow behind his head and sighed in frustration. How had he managed to mess this up? The rest of the night seemed extremely lonely to him. Images of the night before flooded his mind. He couldn't believe how things at taken a turn for the worst. Now he was lying in a hospital bed and couldn't do anything about it. He hardly slept that night, trying to figure out a way to fix everything. He finally came up with a decision. He would check himself out in the morning and find her. He needed to make her understand how he felt about her.

Danny and Chin arrived at the hospital the next morning. They made their way to the entrance, chatting light heartedly along the way. They were surprised when they saw Steve walking out of the hospital entrance with a determined look upon his face.

"What are you doing?" Danny quipped.

"I'm going home." Steve almost walked straight past them.

"What?" Danny and Chin shared a look. "Did they say you could leave?"

Steve turned to face them both. "No. They did not. I said I could leave."

Danny's face scrunched up in frustration. "And what is at home that is so important that you cannot stay in the hospital for one more day?"

Steve didn't answer the question, rather he gave Chin a look. Chin knew. It wasn't a what, but rather a who.

"She's not at home brah." The fact that Chin had given up the information made Steve a little more relaxed. "She's at her favourite spot."

Steve nodded in thanks to Chin and smiled at Danny. He turned to walk away, suddenly realising that he didn't have a vehicle. He turned again to Danny and held out his hand. Danny sighed in more frustration. "Fine. I'll go with Chin." He tossed his keys at Steve who caught them and ran towards the camaro.

Danny turned to Chin. "So you're okay with this now?"

Chin shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose I'd better be." He smiled at Danny and they walked towards his car.

Kono drifted in the water on her board. The morning sun was belting down on her as she swayed with the movements of the water. There weren't a lot of great waves today, but at least out here she could think. She had run away from Steve so fast the night before she barely had time to think about what she had said. Even though she regretted the words she knew that it would probably be better that way. _Just friends_. She sighed before riding out to catch another wave. She lay on her board again, paddling out to the calm of the ocean. When she sat on her board and looked towards the sandy beach she saw a lone figure standing on the edge of the tree line. She held her hand above her eyes to try get a better look as to who it was. It didn't look like Danny or Chin and Steve was in hospital, even though it didn't look like him either. The figure was ragged looking. She couldn't quite make out if the person was watching her or just staring at the ocean in general. Her favourite surf spot was not really known by tourists and since it was a week day there were hardly any locals around either. She had seen a couple walking up the beach a few moments before and now they were out of sight. The next set of waves were coming up and Kono decided to catch one so that she could closer to the shore to investigate who was standing on the beach. As she got closer she could start to see the figure more closely. He still stood there, silently watching, not moving at all. _Ronald_. Once she recognised the long hair and the thin frame she started to feel a little panicked. She looked around, assessing how she could get out of the situation. She could stay in the water. That would be her safest bet. _ But how long would she have to wait for him to leave? What if he had a gun_? She could paddle to another beach, at the risk of being taken out to see by the strong current and with her body in the condition it was in no matter how strong a swimmer she was the current would take her. She sat on her board contemplating her next move carefully when she saw a familiar sight. The silver camaro pulled up next to her car parked alongside the highway. _Danny. No, not Danny._ She noticed the sling on his shoulder. _Steve?_ A sudden realisation caught hold of her. He wouldn't be able to see Ronald lurking in the shadows. She paddled as fast as she could and caught a wave in to shore. Steve was walking towards her on the beach. She tried to run against the water pulling back from the shore, but her legs felt like they had weights holding them back. As soon as she thought that Steve could hear her she shouted to him, all the while running towards him. "Ronald." She pointed in the direction of the lone figure who was now starting to run away from the scene. "Ronald. Over there."

Steve seemed confused at first, then looked over to where she pointed and realised that the man had been waiting for her on the beach. He started to run after him, but his injured arm only kept him back. Kono dropped her board on the sand and ran after Steve. Ronald ran to his vehicle parked a little way up the highway and the truck disappeared before Steve could catch up to get a plate number. Steve was almost breathless when he arrived at the spot where the vehicle had been parked. He hunched over, trying to catch his breath again. He heard his name being called.

"Steve! Steve!" Kono ran up beside him and put her hand on his back while he tried to catch his breath. "Are you okay?"

He straightened. "Yeah. You?"

She nodded. "Why are you out of hospital?"

"They let me out, on good behaviour." He smiled at her still gasping for oxygen.

Kono smirked back at him, as though his smile was infectious. She turned to look at the highway where the man had sped away. "He's been watching me." Her face turned a little more serious. Steve looked at Kono as she stood before him. She was being brave, but he knew her better than that.

"We'll get him soon." He was trying to reassure her without indicating that she needed it.

She smiled weakly at him. "I need to get my board." She walked towards the beach where she had dropped it. Steve called Danny giving him all the information about the vehicle, all the while keeping up with Kono's pace and stood behind her as she reached the spot she needed to get to. He put his cellphone in his pocket and watched her carefully. She turned and faced him as she picked up her board.

"Danny?"

"Yeah, he's putting out APB on the vehicle."

"Good. What else did he say?" She was trying to make conversation and it showed.

"You know Danny. 5 minutes out of hospital and you're already it trouble, blah blah blah.." He smiled at Kono. She gave a chuckled back.

"Yeah, that sounds like Danny."

"Kono, you can't stay alone until we've caught him." He knew telling Kono what to do was a forbidden and eyed her carefully at her response.

She surprised him. "I know. I could…"

"Stay with me." He didn't want her to mention any other name.

"Steve," She looked at the ground, frowning a little. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Please Kono. Let me protect you."

She stared into his eyes for a what seemed like an eternity. The look she saw was not one she had seen before. He needed her, like she needed him. "Okay." She took note of the relief he received from her response. She pulled on her tank top and shorts and they walked side by side to their cars.


End file.
